Last Updated on November 4, 2024
Allen Tate Companies Chairman Pat Riley addresses factors impacting home buying and selling in Q4 2024
The year 2024 has brought many challenges to the real estate market, but that doesn’t mean that buyers and sellers should stay on the sidelines.
“I can’t think of any time in my lifetime that there have been so many factors impacting residential real estate – nationally, regionally and locally,” said Allen Tate Companies Chairman Pat Riley in the November edition of Carolinas Market Update.
In September, Hurricane Helene devastated many communities in Western North Carolina and other areas in the Allen Tate footprint in North and South Carolina.
“Our prayers go out to those affected, with the loss of loved ones, homes and their lifetime contents,” Riley said.
For the industry, that means hundreds of listings and sales that may never come to fruition, and the process to rebuild and recover will take months.
“The NC mountains have been discovered nationally, and we are confident that demand for homes in this region will return,” Riley said.
Mortgage interest rates have eased, Riley said, even prior to the Fed decision in September, which will cause a bump for the starter home and refinance markets. But super low rates are likely in the past.
“Since World War II, rates have averaged about 7 percent. The 5 to 6 percent range is probably our set point for the near future,” Riley said.
Home price appreciation, while back down in the single digits, is still higher here than the rest of the country because of in-migration to the Carolinas.
“Here, the sellers market will continue. While inventory is increasing, there are still more buyers than sellers,” Riley said.
He cautions that sellers need to price their home realistically and let market demand drive up the price.
“If you start too high and then reduce the price, buyers will sense that something is wrong with your home,” Riley said. “We’re used to homes selling quickly.”
Is there still a “best time” to list your home for sale? Not really. While the spring market still runs a few percentage points higher in activity, interest rates and finding the home buyers want still take priority over the time of year, Riley said.
Buyers and sellers can also rest assured the Presidential election has historically not been a factor that has impacted interest rates or real estate market activity, Riley said.
“Since 1957, we have been serving the Carolinas through all kinds of market challenges. You can trust us to coach and guide us through whatever marketplace we face.”
Carolinas Market Update is targeted to consumers in the Charlotte, Triad, Research Triangle, High Country, Highlands/Cashiers, Asheville/Mountain regions of North Carolina and the Upstate and Low Country regions of South Carolina. It is produced every other month by the Allen Tate Companies and features information, statistics, trends, and predictions about the real estate market in North and South Carolina.
Allen Tate is the Carolinas’ largest real estate company based on closed sales volume, with more than 70 offices and 1,800 Realtors in the Charlotte, Triad, Triangle, High Country, Highland/Cashiers and Asheville/Mountain regions of North Carolina and the Upstate and Low Country regions of South Carolina. Allen Tate is a partner of Howard Hanna Real Estate, the largest privately held real estate broker in the United States. The full-service real estate company has 500 real estate, mortgage, insurance, title, and escrow service offices and more than 15,000 sales associates and staff across 13 states. For more information, visit www.allentate.com and www.howardhanna.com.
